Vocation and the Kingdom

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An important question often raised among young professionals and college students is the relation of vocation and the Kingdom. Not to escape from the norm, I struggled with the issue myself because I was raised in a tradition where Kingdom was limited to Sundays and vocation in its proper place in the rest of the week.

The other day, my friend Pr. Neander, asked me to preach in his church. I prepared an inspirational message with stories from the work of the Africa Mercy in Sierra Leon. I was also going to tell about how my vocation, marine engineer, plays a vital role in what I do today.

God does not see me as a Christian on Sunday and an engineer the rest of the week, but I never understood in practical terms that there is not separation between sacred and secular until I joined the Anastasis where I could be a missionary and an engineer at the same time. Till then, working with ships and on the shipyard was a way to bring finances for the Kingdom of God, almost like a necessary evil.

Just before I was to speak, Neander leaned toward me and ask me to speak also on the role of my vocation in what I do, as this is very important to the young people today. To make things more interesting before the service I met Heber Golveia.

Heber was a young adult at Meyer Baptist Church where I was an assistant youth leader. One Sunday he told me that he worked on Caneco Shipyard. I told him that I had applied to work there. The next day he called me saying that there was an open position at the Warantee Department. To make the story short I began to work in a week.

The two years I worked on the shipyard was essential to the work I did later as the Second Engineer of the Mercy Ships Anastasis. God’s call in our lives involves everything we are, which include our vocation. Heber was used by God on my preparation for what God had in mind for my life. My vocation as a marine engineer is a vital part in God’s calling. There is no separation between my vocation and the Kingdom of God.

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